


Reunion

by DessaPython



Series: Rising Problems [1]
Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons), Trollhunters - Daniel Kraus & Guillermo del Toro
Genre: Daddy Issues, F/M, Fluff, How Do I Tag, Short & Sweet, Troll Jim Lake Jr., daddy - Freeform, toxicly sweet, troll!jim
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2019-05-24
Packaged: 2020-03-13 13:47:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18942229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DessaPython/pseuds/DessaPython
Summary: uh... started out as a drabble prompt... then exploded.Jim and Claire need a break from traveling with the trolls. when they leave they find a crying girl who needs help getting home, so they help.I wasn't expecting this fic to come out so damn sweet...





	Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! first time writing anything in a while so bear with me. Feel free to point out errors, I appreciate it. This fic came out SO STUPIDLY SWEET... either way, I hope you enjoy.

“Let’s go get lost somewhere…” Claire interrupted Jim’s thoughts. The cavern was growing dark as the sun began to set outside, many of the trolls were still asleep.   
“What do you mean?” Jim looked up at her from the rock that he had been dozing on.  
“I mean, we’ve been traveling with the trolls for seven weeks now, and we haven’t had any time to ourselves!” She let her shoulders drop as she met his eyes.  
“Mmmm…” Jim looked around at the sleeping group, “Ok yeah sur-” he was unable to finish his thought before Claire had grabbed one of his hands and had begun dragging him off towards the mouth of the cave.   
“Can we race? I wanna practice my warp gates.” She smiled up at him excitedly.  
“Yeah!” He grinned, tusks poking his cheeks. Something he still wasn’t quite used to. “Three, two, one, GO!” He took off, looking back to see a small fizzling purple and green light go out.   
Clair laughed from in front of him, the two dashed through trees and avoiding the boulders that littered the ground. As Claire opened one sparking green and purple portal, another opened somewhere else, as she jumped through she landed through the other with no delay. It was a spell Merlin had taught her in the hopes of gaining some favor back. Ultimately it failed, though she felt better knowing she could still be of use to the group.  
Their laughter echoed through the dark forest as they went. Jim landed in a tree, having lost track of Claire. He unconsciously sniffed before stopping himself, that’s not something a human would do. He scolded himself. Something grabbed his shoulders before tackling him. He cursed the silence of Claire’s new ability.   
“Ha! Ok, ok, you win!” He turned in her arms so his back was resting against the trunk of the tree. She relaxed into his hold, and he ran his thumb over a small scuff on her cheek. “God, you... You are amazing.”   
“You’re not so bad yourself, Romeo.” She whispered and leaned forward and kissed him, eyes falling shut as they enjoyed the moment.   
When they parted, he asked, “Why did you come with me? Really?”  
“Because I lo-” He silenced her with his finger pressed firmly against her lips. She shot him a quizzical look before seeing his ears twitching. He was listening she realized, then she heard it too. A soft crying.   
The sound grew closer, only a few trees away, “Hello?” it sounded like a little girl. “Somebody there? Please help! Mommy said to… Mommy said…” the voice broke into sobs again.   
Claire looked at Jim wide-eyed. He sighed, shifting them so he could lower Claire to the ground without too big of a drop. She landed in the leaf litter with a soft crunch. Looking around a bit, she saw a pink mass behind a bush.  
“Hey there… are you lost?” Claire asked softly as she came around the bush. The girl was small, a pink jacket pulled tightly around her, black curls fell loosely around her face, and held a few leaves and sticks.   
The girl jumped and spun to face the new voice. “Yeah…” She sniffed, “Mommy said… Mommy said to ask for help… Can you help me?”  
Claire crouched next to the girl, “Help you find your parents?”   
“Mmhmm…”   
“Sure, sweetheart. Come here, let’s get you cleaned up.” She pulled a napkin out of her pocket and began wiping some of the mud and dirt off the child. “So, what’s your name?”  
“Emma…”   
“Do you have a last name?”  
“Emma Lake…”   
“O-ok,” Claire blinked at the shared name. “who were you with when you got lost?”   
“Mommy and Daddy.” Emma sniffed again, playing with the zipper on her jacket.   
“What were you guys doing?”  
“Mommy was setting up the fire pit so Daddy could make dinner… Daddy was setting up the tent.” Emma’s light brown eyes met hers.   
“You were camping?”  
“Yeah, that’s what Daddy called it.”   
“Do you remember anything about the area that you were camping in? Any…” Claire tilted her head to the side as she thought of how to phrase the question. “Special rocks or trees?”   
“Ummm there was one… a big rock. I don’t remember its name. Sorry…”   
“Don’t be sorry, Emma, that big rock is sure to help us find your parents. Now,” she paused, contemplating the risk, “I have a friend. He can be kind of scary, but he’s really nice. I promise. He can help us find your parents. He’s very good at tracking.”   
“Whats tracking?”   
“Tracking is… a skill. When you lose something, you look for it, it’s kind of like that, but you also look around you for clues, smells, footprints, and other stuff…”  
“How is he scary?” Emma scrunched her face. “People aren’t scary.”  
“He… doesn’t look like a normal person. But deep down, he really is. Do you think you can let him help us?” Claire held her breath; she wasn’t even sure that Jim would want to come out.  
“Mhmm…”  
“Alright… if he’s too scary, you let me know… Jim, come on down.” She looked up to the tree she was in minutes prior.   
Emma looked up with her, seconds pass, and after what seems like an eternity to Claire, the leaves and branches begin to rustle. A large shape leapt out of the tree, landing a few feet from them. He fell from a crouch into a cross-legged sit in the hopes of not scaring the girl too badly. Jim smiled sheepishly. “...Hi.”   
Emma’s eyes went wide, “You’re an Elf!” she exclaimed a moment later, excitement wiping out whatever fear may have lingered.   
“What?” Jim was taken aback by the young girl’s reaction.  
The kid made a noise, bouncing on the balls of her feet. She looked to Claire, eyes still wide in excitement. Claire smiled and gave the girl a gentle push in Jim’s direction. That was all she needed. Emma bounded over to him, reaching out with her little hands before she paused as if she remembered something. “Can I touch them?  
“Uhh, sure.” Jim lifted an eyebrow but let the girl continue.  
Her hands found his ears first. She rubbed them gently, following them all the way to the pointed tips. She giggled when they twitched. Next was his horns. She touched the tip, as if to test if it were sharp, then he felt her fingers parting his hair, looking for the base of the growths.   
He chuckled; after a moment of letting her explore, he gently took her arms and pulled them down. “Ok ok, that’s enough…”  
“Why are you, blue? Are all elves blue?” She paused a moment, pulling her arms free from his hands to poke his teeth. “What are these?”   
“No, not all Elves are blue, some of us are green, grey, and even orange! And those would be my tusks.” Jim answered, opening his mouth a bit so she could see.  
“Tusks… like… an elephant?”   
“Yeah! Just mine are smaller.” He shrugged, that was one thing he was grateful for.   
“What’s your name again, Mr. Elf?” Emma tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at him.  
“Jim. And this is Claire.” He gestured to her, as she stood, brushing the dust and leaves off her legs.   
“That isn’t a very Elf-ish name.” She giggled.   
“You ready to go look for your parents?” Claire spoke up, saving Jim from needing to answer.  
“Yes! Mr. Jim can I-” Emma stopped short, rethinking what she was going to ask and deciding against it.   
“What? You can ask. It never hurts to ask.” Jim tried to reassure her.  
Claire couldn’t catch what Emma mumbled, but Jim seemed to.  
“Sure.” He responded without missing a beat. He stood, standing to his full seven and a half feet. Emma looked up at him in surprise. Claire looked at him in confusion as well.   
“I’m an Elf. I have good hearing.” He shrugged and twitched his ears for good measure. “Come-er.” Emma practically scrambled over to him, he chuckled and to Claire’s horror, picked her up and placed her on his shoulders. Her tiny hands found his horns immediately. “Hold on tight, ok? I need to get higher so we can find the big rock.”   
Claire didn’t have time to stop them before Jim lept up into the trees. “James Lake Jr., you be careful with her!!” She screamed after them.   
Jim couldn’t help but smile at the child’s laughter as he leapt from branch to branch, landing them higher and higher in the tree each time. She had an iron grip. That’s for sure.  
“So!” He preached near the top of the tree, standing on a thick gnarled branch. “Do you see it?   
“Mmm…” Emma looked around, “That one! Over there!”   
“Right. Let’s get Claire and head that way.”   
When they reached the floor, Claire exploded on Jim. “Why on earth would you do that!? How was that a good idea in any way?!”   
“We needed to find the rock!” He chuckled, trying to defuse her anger.  
“Jim what if you had dropped her!” Claire pressed.  
“I wasn’t about to drop a kid, promise.” His expression softened, and he pecked her on the forehead. “Come on! We need to go this way.” Claire followed his lead, turning to begin the trek in that direction.  
“Elves protect people. I can’t get hurt with Mr. Jim.” Squealed the girl between his horns.  
“You can just call me Jim, Emma.” He tapped her shin with his fingers.   
“Ok… So… your full name is James Lake?”  
“James Lake Jr. I have the same last name as you!” He tried to make it seem fun.  
Emma giggled, “And the same name as Daddy.”   
Jim and Claire glanced at each other.  
“Wait, what?” Claire broke the silence first.   
“Daddy’s name is James Lake. Mommy is Charlotte Lake. Are you a Lake to Claire?” Emma smiled as she asked.  
“No.” There was something forlorn about her expression, “I’m Claire Nunez.”   
“Or are you a Lake? We pretty much eloped.” Jim bumped her with his elbow.   
“Jim!!” She smacked his arm lightly, she tried to hide her smile but to no avail.   
“Hello? Is someone there? Emma?” A male voice echoed off the trees.   
Jim froze, recognition clear on his face. “Go with Claire, Emma. I need to hide.” He quickly pulled the girl off his shoulders and placed her on the ground.   
“Wait, that was Daddy!” Emma looked around, trying to find the source of the voice in the filtered moonlight. Her small hand held on to him tightly.  
“Emma, you’re dad can’t see me! I’m an elf! I gotta hide!” Jim looked towards the sound, footsteps were getting louder but were still a ways away. “Here. you ever need me, call this number,” He pulled out the napkin that was sticking out of Claire’s pocket and as clearly as he could, wrote on it with a stick covered in mud. “and tell me where you are.   
“Thank you, Jim!” Emma gave him a hug before she let go of his hand.  
“Go!” He urged. He watched Emma take Claire’s hand, and with that, he leapt up into the trees, determined to follow out of sight.   
“Come on.” Claire smiled down at the girl before looking up and shouting, “Hello? I have Emma! Hello?”  
“Emma! Keep talking so I can find you!” The voice responded, louder and closer now.  
“We’re here, Daddy! Over here!” Emma called out.  
“Emma! Baby!” A man with cropped black hair and a matching beard came around a tree, when he saw the child he fell to his knees.  
Emma ran to him, flinging herself into his arms. “Daddy!”   
“Please don’t ever wander off like that again! Do you hear me? You scared me so much…” He half scolded her, his face pressed into her hair, his beard scratching her cheek.   
“Daddy, this is Claire! She helped me find you.” Emma pulled away from the man, turning to point at Claire.   
“Thank you so much. Claire…?” James stood, picking Emma up as he went.  
“Claire Nunez. I was hiking with my boyfriend when we found her.” Claire explained.   
“He didn’t come with you?” Mr. Lake glanced around.  
“No, I’m the better navigator, so I helped her get back, and he went back to our party and told them why I was gonna be late. Anyway, I better be getting back.” Claire shrugged and continued, “You, Ms. Little Lake, no more wandering off! Next time Jim and I might not be there to find you.”   
“I won’t!” She squeaked.  
“Goodbye then, Emma, Mr. Lake.” Before she could leave, James spoke up again.  
“Wait, please. You have to let us repay you somehow. We haven’t eaten yet, come have dinner with us.” He hurriedly suggested.  
“Please, Claire! Daddy is a really good cook!” Emma pleaded, eager to spend more time with her new friend.   
Claire paused, a fully cooked human meal. Normal food. Her stomach growled at the thought. “Alright… I guess I can’t say no, huh.” She smiled at the two of them.  
“Yay!” Emma squealed.  
The walk back was filled with chatter by Emma. How she got lost following a frog, but then she found a blue forest Elf who helped her. She told her father about his ears, horns, and tusks. Claire was nervous but surprised to hear Emma spin the tail so that the Elf left when Claire and Jim found her. She smiled, relieved, up at the trees, knowing full well that the ‘Elf’ would not miss it.   
“Charlotte! We found her!” James called when a campsite came into view.   
“Emma! My god! Baby girl, you cannot run off like that! You nearly gave Mommy a heart attack! What if a bear had found you!” A round woman with bouncing brown locks was in front of James almost as quick as if she had used one of Claire’s warp gates. She scooped Emma out of his arms, hugging her close to her chest and pressing kisses to the top of her head.   
“It’s ok. Claire and Jim found me!” Emma’s voice was muffled by her mother’s shirt.  
“No baby, no, it’s not ok.” Charlotte pulled her daughter away a bit so she could look her in the eye.   
“I’m sorry, Mommy… I won’t chase frogs anymore.”   
“Good. Now! Introduce me to your new friend! You’re staying for dinner, I hope!” The woman gave Claire a pointed look.  
“Emma wouldn’t let me leave! I’m Claire, Claire Nunez.” She smiled warmly at the woman, it wasn’t hard after seeing the interaction between the two.   
“Well, I’ll go get working on dinner.” James huffed and went to get started.  
“I need to get some things tidied up in the tent. Emma, why don’t you show Claire some of your dolls you brought?”  
“Yeah!” Emma squealed, when her mother put her down, she made a beeline for Claire, taking her hand again. Claire laughed and allowed herself to be led to the car on the other side of the campground.   
Emma showed her every plush she had brought with her. “This is Snaggle Toofers!” She held up a worn green alligator plush. “He likes playing with Modo. But when they play, they always end up fighting!”   
Claire snorted, “And who’s Modo?”   
“He’s my cuemodo dragon.”   
“A komodo dragon?”   
“Yeah! He’s huge!” She gestured with her arms, “Mommy said I had to leave him home.”  
“Well, if he’s that big, its probably for the best.”  
“But, I did get to bring Miss Hissy!” She leaned over the seat to pull a long rainbow snake into the front with them, its scales were sequins, one way they were black, the other way they were rainbow. They played with the stuffed animals in the car until Charlotte came to collect them for dinner.   
“So Claire, are you from around here?” James broke the silence once everyone had started eating.  
“No. I’m from California, actually.” She smiled at him; she hoped it looked genuine enough.   
“Really? I lived there a while back. Where in California?”   
“Arcadia.”  
James choked on his baked beans before clearing his throat. “Arcadia? Really?”   
“Yeah, small city, awesome people. My mother is the head of the City Council.” She continued.  
“Arcadia, babe, wasn’t that where you used to live?” Charlotte tapped her spoon on the plate thoughtfully.  
“Yup. Small world, huh?” James had the same nervous expression that Jim does, Claire noted.  
“Bigger than people think.” Claire sighed, looking back down at her plate.  
Silence.   
“So! Claire, do you have a special someone?” This time Charlotte took it upon herself to keep the conversation alive.  
“Yes, actually. Jim,” James sputtered while drinking water, “I was hiking with him when we found Emma.”  
“And? What type of man is he?” Emma’s mother had a mischevious glint in her eye, oblivious to her husband’s discomfort.   
“He’s amazing. Despite all the sh- stuff, “Claire caught and corrected herself, “we’ve been through he’s still with little old me.” She smiled at the thought of him. “Let me tell you, Jim is nothing if not loyal and protective. Ok, maybe he has some anxiety and perfectionist issues as well, but hey! I love him all the more for it. We’ve been together for almost a year now.” She pretended not to notice James’s uncomfortable shifting in his seat.   
“That’s so sweet! Though if you don’t mind my asking, how old are you, Claire?” Charlotte met Claire’s eyes with the look of a worried mother, a look Claire had wished to see on her own mother’s face.   
“I’m 17, Jim is 18, but don’t worry we’re out here with his surrogate father and his family.”  
“Oh alright, good. I was going to insist that you both stay with us if you weren’t with anyone else! We really do have bears out here.” She chuckled while giving the warning.   
“I don’t doubt it.” Claire rested her spoon on her now empty plate. “Thank you for the food, it was delicious!” She smiled tentatively at James. “I do need to get going though, before Jim and everyone else starts to get worried.”   
“Of course, dear. Emma, it’s off to bed with you! James? Give Claire our number just in case she ever needs anything. Ever.”   
“I will hon.” He was already reaching for a scrap of paper.  
“Good night dear, I hope you and Jim have a safe trip, you call if you need anything, alright?” Claire nodded at her. With that, she carefully picked up her child, who was slowly falling asleep in her plate of food and disappeared into the tent.   
Claire stood, leaving her plate and spoon abandoned on the chair. James passed her the slip of paper with his number on it and walked with her to the edge of the campsite.  
“So…” He started as they slowed.  
“Jim and Barbra are fine if that’s what you are struggling to ask.” Claire looked up, from the clearing there was a beautiful view of the stars, she savored it a moment.   
“You knew the whole time, didn’t you?”  
“I knew since Emma said that her Daddy had the same name as Jim. We are in the right area, after all.”   
James cringed and made a face. “That’s why he didn’t come with you to bring Emma back, wasn’t it?”   
“That and other reasons. But now that he knows he has a sister, even a half, you better hope you never hurt her like you did him… He will track you down and make you regret it if you do.”   
“I don’t plan on it. I regret everything that happened with Barbra and-”  
“You regret Jim?” Claire pressed.  
“What? No! That’s not what I meant ok? I regret the whole situation!”  
“So you regret the house, the marriage, the financial stability, the supportive neighbors, and you threw your son a bike kit as an apology and ran off? I may not have known Jim at the time, but I know it was bad. He still hates birthdays…”  
“Look, please, just… just tell him I’m sorry and that I won’t make the same mistake with Emma. She’s my world. And he’s welcome to come to visit! Any time! You too, Emma loves you!”  
“I’ll pass it on. But now I really do need to get going. Jim is probably going to get worried soon. Thank you again for the food, and it was nice, albeit strange, to meet you, Mr. Lake.” With that, she started out into the forest.  
“Wait! One more thing. If you don’t mind.” Claire turned back to look at him. “Why didn’t you tell them? Emma and Charlotte.”  
“It’s not my place to Mr. Lake.” She turned and walked deeper into the shade of the forest.  
After a few minutes, when she was sure she wasn’t being followed or within earshot, she spoke, “Well, mild crisis averted. You can come out, love.”   
Jim dropped out of a nearby tree, a melancholy look on his face. “Want a ride back?”  
“Please? I’m exhausted and about to fall victim to the food coma those two gave me.” She closed the distance between them.   
Jim’s face scrunched, “How was it? The food I mean?” He turned around, bending down so she could climb onto his back.  
She settled, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his scruff. She took a breath, the scent that filled her lungs was just… him. She wished she could stay like this forever. “Your dad’s cooking? It was good. But not as good as yours.” Leaning a bit further, she pecked him on the cheek.  
“I should hope not. I would feel betrayed!” He chuckled as he leapt into a tree, and launched them into the night sky.  
...  
“Where on earth were you both! I was worried sick!” Blinky stalked out of the cave when he saw the two approaching.  
“Sorry Blinky, we started on a race but…” Jim floundered, not wanting to say he exposed himself.  
“We found this lost little girl, so I helped her find her way back to the campground. Then her parents kept me for dinner.” Claire filled in.  
“Well, at least neither of you are injured. There is a good supply of crystals here, we decided to stay a while and replenish our stores. So! I took the liberty of crafting another Glamour Mask. Although Merlin did something to it when he heard it was for you. So that you two might be able to part take in normal human activities. A cloak won’t be too difficult to find…”  
Jim cut off Blinky’s rambling with a firm hug. He was quite a moment before he spoke up again. “Thank you, Blinky.”   
A look of surprise crossed the troll's face and he glanced at Claire, who gave him a weary smile. He looked back down to the boy whom he had gotten to watch change and grow so much and clutched him that much tighter. “You are very welcome, Master Jim.” 

**Author's Note:**

> May or may not continue... If I can figure out a direction for it to go... We shall see...


End file.
